Unpacking Your Travel Aesthetic
Insta-Worthy Edition
Feeling the excitement bubbling up while boarding your flight, discovering all the cool local spots, and snapping pictures of the most breathtaking scenery. What’s not to like about being a travel blogger? Of course, there’s a whole world to unravel when making this niche your brand’s unique signature. No worries, that’s why we’re here! In this guide, we’ll go over how to build your travel aesthetic by creating a unique visual identity (P.S. Instagram edition!). Eager to get started? Read on!
Ready to Takeoff: Find Your Gate ✈️
- Travel Aesthetic 101: Understanding Visual Branding 💫️
- The Aesthetic Handbook: Elements of Visual Branding ✨
- From Landing to Lift Off: Creating Your Travel Aesthetic 🛫
- Bon Voyage Visuals: Exploring the Best Travel Aesthetics 🤩
- Less Is More: Minimalistic Travel Aesthetic 🤍
- Boho Bliss: Eclectic Travel Aesthetic 🍃
- Jet Set Glow: Vibrant Travel Aesthetic 💫
- Sleek Vibes: Modern Travel Aesthetic 🏙
- Glam on the Go: Chic Travel Aesthetic 💖
- Do It Right: What Makes Your Travel Aesthetic Shine 🌟
- Boarding Pass To Inspiration: Your Journey Starts Here! 🧳
Travel Aesthetic 101: Understanding Visual Branding 💫️
Have you ever encountered an Instagram feed you just couldn’t take your eyes off? Maybe it had to do with its beautiful color palette or dazzling illustrations. Or perhaps it made you feel connected to the posts they were sharing. Needless to say, its aesthetic was spot on! Well, guess what? That has to do with visual branding. 😉✨
So, what is visual branding exactly? In a few words, visual branding refers to all the graphic components and elements that work cohesively to communicate your business identity. Think of it as the unifying thread that brings together your brand’s image, message, and personality.
Now, why is this important for your travel aesthetic? Let’s take a look at what this conveys for your business:
The Importance of Visual Branding
🌟 Brand differentiation. Visual branding ensures your business maintains a consistent look across all platforms and communication streams. So, whether that’s your website, social media, or newsletter, the idea is to establish a visual signature that sets your brand apart. This brings us to the next point!
🌟 Immediate recognition. High-quality and distinctive visuals serve as your brand’s unique identifier. This creates a long-lasting impression that’ll make your audience remember your brand as soon as they see your logo, color palette, or design elements. Talk about being truly unforgettable!
🌟 Enhanced communication. With the right strategy, visual branding can be the best ally for conveying your business message without using words. The design choices you make will have an impact on how your audience perceives your brand. For example, will your travel aesthetic be adventurous or glamorous? We’ll find out!
🌟 Emotional impact. Strong imagery helps create meaningful associations and evoke feelings like excitement, enthusiasm, or nostalgia. Therefore, visual branding lets you connect with your viewers by nurturing a bond beyond the surface. All in all, this fosters brand loyalty, trust, and credibility.
💡 We’re just getting started! These are our top branding tips for developing an iconic brand.
⭐️ Curating a unique and memorable travel aesthetic will boost your social media presence. Are your creative sparks igniting? The journey is just beginning! In the next section, we’ll break down the key components of visual branding and its significance. Let’s dive in!
The Aesthetic Handbook: Elements of Visual Branding ✨
At its core, there are 5 essentials to visual branding. While conveying different design requirements, each one is equally important as they’ll ultimately compose a cohesive travel aesthetic. Without further ado, let’s learn about each of them:
Logo ®️
Logos use text, images, shapes, and colors to define a distinctive graphic mark for your business. Remember, logos are the first point of contact users have with your brand and first impressions matter. In other words, your logo should function effectively as a standalone emblem while seamlessly fitting into your overall visual identity.
The good news is that you don’t need to start from scratch! Placeit by Envato is your creative ally when choosing the right travel logo for your brand. 
Typography ✏️
Yes, words do matter! Especially when communicating the right message for your brand. Yet, there’s much more in store regarding the perfect social media aesthetic. For starters, remember that font pairings shape how your phrasing is perceived. That’s where the font fun begins!
Depending on your choice, typographies can set different tones by evoking emotions and showcasing specific styles. Additionally, they also play an important role in your content’s overall UX and readability. For example, did you know that serif fonts are often used for headlines as they have good legibility?
Let’s create some font-tastic vibes! Turn your words into magic with our ultimate font pairing guide for non-designers.
Color Palette 🎨
Just like every destination has its special hue, your brand’s unique color palette can transport your audience to mesmerizing landscapes. From the warm goldens of a sunset to the cool blues of the gentle ocean, each shade evokes profound meanings and emotions. So, it’s time to let your artistic side shine through!
First, think of the imagery you want your brand to convey. Is your traveling aesthetic the thrill of an exciting adventure or the tranquility of a weekend getaway? The right color palette will take your audience on a visual journey. Therefore, when choosing a scheme, consider the following aspects:
🎨 Brand values
🎨 Travel themes
🎨 Industry trends
🎨 Target audience
🎨 Visual consistency
🎨 Emotional impact
🎨 Psychology of color
🌈 Let’s take your inspiration to the next level! Check out our dazzling winter color palette for those cool holiday vibes. Or are you searching for beautiful shades that remind you of a warm breeze? Then, take a look at our beautiful summer color palette.
Photos & Illustrations 📷
When creating a travel aesthetic, the world is your canvas (literally!). Think of all the beautiful scenery awaiting you at each destination. Once you’ve documented your trip, consider how your photos and videos can serve as the foundation for different content formats. Yes, it’s time for Insta-worthy posts, stories, and reels!
Have you ever heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Then, you’ll know this premise shines through on social media. So, ensure every photo reflects your brand, whether photographing a gorgeous landmark or filming your latest adventure. Additionally, you can always use illustrations to complement your aesthetics!
In whichever case, we highly recommend the following advice:
Opt for high-quality visuals that encompass your brand’s essence and leave a lasting impression.
Personalize each picture or illustration according to each platform’s custom social media dimensions.
Be mindful of copyright terms and conditions when downloading images from third-party websites.
Graphic Elements 🟪
Graphic elements serve as the building blocks of your fabulous designs. We’re talking about the shapes, lines, patterns, textures, colors, icons, and spaces that contrast and complement each other. Combined, they create a powerful visual narrative consistent with your brand’s identity.
For instance, sharp lines are often associated with a modern aesthetic and tend to be used in minimalistic and contemporary designs. On the other hand, curves tend to represent softness, conveying a more casual and laid-back approach. To sum up, this means each element adds up when defining your travel aesthetic.
⭐️ Are you eager to start crafting your visual branding but don’t know where to start? We got your back! Let’s review the best strategies for perfecting your Instagram aesthetic (travel edition!).
From Landing to Lift Off: Creating Your Travel Aesthetic 🛫
Establishing a consistent social media aesthetic goes beyond making your Instagram feed look pretty (though it sure will!). It’s also about boosting your online presence, engaging with your audience, and properly communicating what your brand is all about. Here’s our go-to guide for mastering your visual branding:
1. Define Your Brand’s Personality
Before digging into your digital content strategy, it’s important to determine your brand’s unique traits, values, and qualities. This will help you create a voice and style that resonates with your target audience. Moreover, a well-defined brand personality is likelier to be perceived as authentic by viewers. This is particularly relevant when looking to stand out in social media.
So, ask yourself what’s your brand story and purpose. Furthermore, think about what differentiates it from competitors within the same niche. Are you feeling inspired? Perfect! Here are some brand personality traits you can use as a guideline to define your travel aesthetic.
Adventurous
Calm
Confident
Dreamy
Energetic
Friendly
Glamorous
Playful
Reliable
Spontaneous
Sweet
Youthful
Adventurous
Calm
Confident
Dreamy
Energetic
Friendly
Glamorous
Playful
Reliable
Spontaneous
Sweet
Youthful
2. Create a Mood Board
Mood boards serve as visual representations of specific projects, styles, or themes. In this case, you’ll put together your awesome traveling aesthetic. Now, when looking for inspiration, it’s easy to feel lost in a vast sea of ideas. We highly suggest you do this step after nailing down your brand’s identity and personality. Then, the fun part begins!
Whether you opt for an online or physical mood board, the idea is to conceptualize your vision and set the bigger picture. There are no written rules! So, don’t be afraid to explore different creative approaches.
Quick note: while mood boards are highly visual, you can add written content, too. For example, you can include phrases, statements, adjectives, and important keywords that define your intended Instagram aesthetic.
For instance, here are some elements you can incorporate into your mood board:
🟥 Images
🟧 Pictures
🟨 Logos
🟩 Illustrations
🟩 Color swatches
🟨 Textures
🟧 Patterns
🟥 Fonts
3. Choose Your Visual & Design Elements
This part involves selecting the specific font pairing, color palette, photos, illustrations, and graphic elements that’ll be the heart and soul of your visual branding. As we discussed, it’s all about strategizing what you want to communicate and the emotions your travel aesthetic will evoke.
🤔 Not a design expert? Don’t worry! You can always head to Placeit by Envato and browse our gorgeous travel templates. Play around with different colors, fonts, and graphics until you’re happy with the results!
4. Make Your Style Guide
Time to put together all the awesome ideas you came up with! Your style guide will help outline how each visual branding element should be properly used on social media and throughout all your platforms. Therefore, whenever you’re planning new content, you’ll have clear guidelines to steer you through the creative process.
Remember, consistency gives your Instagram aesthetic a cohesive vibe. In other words, it makes it look put together, showcases professionalism, and builds your brand’s presence. Additionally, when followed correctly, your style guide optimizes your time and effort by ensuring your social media content strategy aligns with your travel aesthetic.
Wondering what to include in your style guide? It’s all good! These are a few aspects to keep in mind:
🟣 Logo usage
🟣 Color palette
🟣 Imagery style
🟣 Typography
🟣 Brand’s voice
🟣 Layouts
⭐️ We’re not done yet! Stay with us for the journey ahead as we explore the best Instagram aesthetics for travel content creators.
Bon Voyage Visuals: Exploring the Best Travel Aesthetics 🤩
Whether you’re an outgoing adventurer or a glamorous jet setter, there’s a traveling aesthetic that’s true to your style. These are our top picks to give your content a branding boost:
Less Is More: Minimalistic Travel Aesthetic 🖤
Minimalism creates a calm, serene atmosphere by embracing neutral tones, clean lines, and geometric shapes. While it may feel “simple” at first sight, it’s really about prioritizing essential design elements. Therefore, this aesthetic makes every detail count by utilizing negative space, monochromatic palettes, and bold font pairings.
Sounds like your cup of tea? Perfect! Here’s a quick guideline you can follow when going for the “less is more” approach to your different social media content ideas:
Colors: neutral palette (white, gray, and black).
Photos & Illustrations: opt for open areas and clean frames, look for symmetry and repetition, and include patterns that maintain order and uniformity.
Graphic Elements: use clean lines and simple geometric shapes like squares or rectangles.
Pro Tip: Though minimalism is associated with a neutral color palette, you can make your designs stand out by adding accent colors that complement or contrast your chosen scheme.
Boho Bliss: Eclectic Travel Aesthetic 🍃
Like a breath of fresh air, the boho aesthetic plays with different textures, lovely patterns, and vibrant colors to create a wonderful “mix & match” style. So, this aesthetic is perfect for those who love to share their travel adventures, especially when the destination includes beautiful nature escapades and cozy spots. It’s all about showcasing a free-spirited vibe!
Looking to achieve that eclectic and bohemian vibe on a travel template? We’ve got you covered:
Colors: nature-inspired color palettes such as earth tones, green, brown, orange, and yellow.
Photos & Illustrations: while you can opt for a theme, this aesthetic doesn’t necessarily have to “match” in a traditional way. Exploring different prints, designs, styles, and colors can nail the boho and eclectic style.
Graphic elements: play around with leaf and floral patterns, combine neutral textures, and include soft lines and irregular shapes that showcase that eclectic vibe. Layering is encouraged!
✔️ Pro Tip: With its carefree spirit, the boho aesthetic is ideal for showcasing your brand’s more authentic and relatable side. For example, you can share funny anecdotes or behind-the-scene pictures from your trip on your travel blog.
Jet Set Glow: Vibrant Travel Aesthetic 💫
From dazzling city lights to stunning street art, this travel aesthetic is all about bold designs. Moreover, its radiant color palette is often associated with enthusiasm, excitement, and energy. This makes it a great style for captivating and engaging with your viewers through eye-catching and colorful social media content. AKA explore the world in full-color mode!
Do you want to give it a go? Awesome! Here’s how you can make your designs pop with a vibrant travel aesthetic:
Colors: bold color palettes like bright yellows, oranges, or reds, electric blue, and royal purple.
Photos & Illustrations: strive for high-quality, striking imagery featuring bold fonts and contrasting color schemes. For example, if you’re posting new travel blogs, be sure to include high-resolution pictures of your destination.
Graphic elements: aim for a playful vibe by using colorful geometric patterns and abstract shapes.
✔️Pro Tip: When picking out your palette, use the color wheel to determine which shades complement each other better. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations!
Sleek Vibes: Modern Travel Aesthetic 🏙
While modern aesthetics also incorporate minimalistic features like clean lines, the goal is to highlight the idea of innovation. Yes, this is perfect for travel influencers who love urban landscapes! Its style focuses on achieving a “simple” yet polished, functional, and balanced look. When it comes to design, it often features different geometric shapes, as well as bold color palettes and typography.
Planning your next trip? Let’s say you want to post a cool travel plan template that showcases a modern aesthetic. Here are a few pointers you can follow:
Colors: neutrals (white, gray, black) paired with trendy and vibrant tones.
Photos & Illustrations: aim for a style that’s visually appealing and instantly recognizable through high-quality images that focus on proportion and symmetry.
Graphic Elements: include sharp lines and geometric shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles.
✔️Pro Tip: Craving a pop of color? If you feel your design needs that “special something”, you can use primary colors (red, green, and blue) to include a dash of boldness.
🔥 Content alert! Check out the best tips for creating a brand identity on Instagram.
Glam on the Go: Chic Travel Aesthetic 💖
This travel aesthetic is all about showcasing luxury, sophistication, and elegance. While its designs lean on monochromatic color palettes, they are anything but boring! Its rich patterns and textures embrace the idea of exclusivity, making this style perfect for travelers who are also fashion gurus in search of their couture adventure.
Colors: monochromatic palettes, neutrals, and soft pastels.
Photos & Illustrations: when choosing pictures, lean towards images that play with light and clean lines to convey the idea of symmetry and balance.
Graphic elements: use bold shapes and curves to create glamorous designs with eye-catching silhouettes.
✔️Pro Tip: In need of something more dazzling? Metallic accents like gold or silver can tie together this chic aesthetic.
Do It Right: What Makes Your Travel Aesthetic Shine 🌟
Before we wrap this up, we wanted to share some Instagram content ideas to get you started on this journey!
Travel Hashtags for Instagram📱
#AmazingDestinations
#IGTravel
#InstaTravel
#InstaTraveling
#LoveTravel
#LuxuryTravel
#MyTravelgram
#PostcardsFromTheWorld
#RoamThePlanet
#SoloTravel
#TravelBlog
#TravelBlogger
#TravelDiaries
#TravelDiary
#Travelgram
#Travelholic
#Traveller
#TravelLife
#TravelPhotography
#TravelTheWorld
Travel Content Ideas 💭
Hacks & Advice ✅
- Safety tips
- Packing checklists
- Essential words and phrases
Templates 🖥
- Travel budget template
- Travel itinerary template
- Travel planner template
Inspo 💜
- Quotes
- Travel bucket list
- Dream boards
Travel Instagram Captions 🌏
- Climb mountains – not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world! 🌄
- Collecting memories, one destination at a time 📸
- Don’t worry, beach happy 🏖️
- Good times & tan lines 🌴
- High tides & good vibes 🌊
- I do believe it’s time for another adventure 😌
- I feel most at home when I’m exploring the world 🗺
- I followed my heart, and it led me to the airport ✈️
- I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list ✨
- Keep calm and travel on 😀
- Making memories all over the world 🌍
- Memories in the making ❣️
- New destination unlocked 🔓
- The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams 💗
- Vitamin SEA 🐚
- What’s on my bucket list? Everywhere 👌🏻
Avoid making these rookie mistakes when creating your personal brand!
Boarding Pass To Inspiration: Your Journey Starts Here! 🧳
By this point, you’ve probably chosen an awesome travel aesthetic that goes with your brand’s style, personality, and goals. So, why not complement it with some Insta-worthy posts and stories, and documenting your journey? From finding a flight to exploring incredible destinations, there’s an incredible adventure waiting for you out there! Of course, we’re here to help every step of the way. At Placeit by Envato, you can always find endless inspiration, resources, and expert tutorials to fuel your creative journey.
P.S. Are you curious to explore more about the world of visual branding? Let us know in the comments what you’d like us to explore in future blogs. Till next time! 
